Trunk.



PATENTED JULY 16, 1907.

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H. DAVIS.

TRUNK APPLIOATION FILED flEPT. 17. 1906-.

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PATENTED JULY 16, 1907.

H. DAVIS.

TRUNK.

APPLICATION rum) snrT.17-. 1906.

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HERMAN DAVIS, OF NFW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

TRUNK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1907.

Application filed September 17, 1906. Serial No. 334,929-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN DAVIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State ofLouisiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trunks, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to trunks such as are adapted to be converted intocombined bureaus and wardrobes; and it contemplates the provision of atrunk of the type mentioned embodying such a construction that itssections cooperate when the trunk is closed in lending stiffness andstrength one to another, and one which in proportion to its size ispossessed of large capacity and is adapted to carry a large quantity ofclothes without creasing or otherwise deteriorating the same and in sucha neatly arranged manner that any particular garment desired may bereadily removed from the trunk and as readily replaced therein.

The invention also contemplates the provision in a trunk of the kindstated, of an improved slide bracket through the medium of which all ofthe garments hung in the wardrobe portion of the trunk may be readilymoved outward or inward; and it further contemplates the provision incombination with the hinged sections of the wardrobe portion, offasteners calculated when properly adjusted to hold the upper section ina strong and rigid manner above and in vertical alinement with the lowersection.

Other advantageous features peculiar to my invention will be fullyunderstood from the following description and claims when the same areread in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved trunk as the same appearswhen fully opened. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail side elevationillustrating the intermediate or joint portion of one of the braces forfixing the upper wardrobe section above and in vertical alinement withthe lower section. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken in the planeindicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking downwardly. Fig. 4 is aperspective view of the slide bracket of the trunk, removed. 7 Fig. 5 isa perspective view of the trunk as the same appears when closed andready for transportation. Fig. 6 is a vertical central section takenthrough the wardrobe portion of the-trunk and illustrating the sectionsmaking up said portion as supported or arranged one on the other, andalso illustrating the curtain and the door of said portion as closed.Fig. 7 is an enlarged transverse section illustrative of thebefore-mentioned slide bracket. Fig. 8 is a detail transverse sectionillustrating one of the side walls of the combined wardrobe and closuresection of the trunk.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all 5 5 of the views ofthe drawings, referring to which:

A and B are the body sections of my novel trunk,

which are hinged together at a. The said sections A and B havecorrespondingly inclined upper ends I) and 0, respectively, as bestshown in Fig. 5, and both sections are open at their upper ends, asshown in Figs. 1 and 6. The section A, however, is thicker than thesection B, Fig. 5, and is provided at its lower end with 'a suitablenumber of anti friction'rollers d so as to permit of it being moved withfacility on a floor and toward and from the body section B. The sectionA is also provided with a vertical series of sliding drawers e, and ashelf f disposed above the drawers and adapted to render the section Acapable of use as a writing desk. When desirable the shelf f may have aslidable extension 9 designed to be conveniently drawn out so as .torest in' front of the section A and form a convenient rest for paper andthe like, and as readily replaced in the said shelf f.

As best shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the body section A is equipped with aflange h which serves when the trunk body is closed to overlap thesection B and in that way assist in holding the said sections A and Bagainst movement with respect to each other so as to contribute to thestrength and durability of the trunk as a whole. When the section A isclosed against the section B, as shown in Fig. 5, it will be observedthat the two sections form a body substantially square in cross-section,and it will also be observed that in virtue of the said sections A and Bbeing provided adjacent to their free edges and at points opposite tothe hinges a with suitable cooperating fastener members It and l, thesections may be strongly connected together so as to render the trunkcapable of withstanding the rough usage to which trunks are ordinarilysubjected. The section A is provided on one side with a handle m, and atan opposite point the section B is provided with a similar handle, Figs.5 and G. From this it follows that the closed trunk may be easilycarried by porters walking at opposite sides of the same.

As will be observed by reference to Figs. 1 and 6, the body section B isprovided at its lower end with suitable feet or protuberances n whichsupport it in such position as to assure the edges of its walls assumingpositions inside the flange h ofthe section A when the trunk is closed.

0 is a spring roller jour'naled in the side walls of the body section Badjacent to the lower endand front thereof, and D is a curtain oftextile or other suitable flexible material connected to and arranged tobe wound upon the roller C and also arranged to be moved upward anddownward for a purpose presently set forth.

In addition to the body sections A and B, the trunk comprises avertically swinging combined wardrobe and closure section Ewhichconstitutes an important feature of my present invention as will bepresently understood. 7 The said section E has a back wall 7), falseside walls q, Figs; 1 and 8, arranged when the trunk is 1 illustrate.

closed to rest at the inner sides of the side walls of sections A and B,side flanges 2" arranged to lap the side walls of the sections A and Bwhen the trunk is closed and having their outer edges inclined inconformity with the upper ends b and c of the sections A and B so as toenable said edges to fit over the said sections when the section E isclosed as shown in Fig. 5, a top or end wall 5, a false top or end wallt and a flange 1!. extending beyond said wall 15 and adapted to lap theupper end of the back wall of the section A. When the section E is swungdown on the sections A and B, it will be seen that the said section Eserves to close the trunk and hold said sections A and B together inclosed relation, and when the section E is locked to the section Athrough the cooperating lock members a and to, Fig. 5, it will beapparent that all of the sections will be securely held in their closedpositions; and it will also be apparent that in virtue of the flanges rand u. of the section E overlapping the sections A and B, the saidsections A and B will be held against casual movement away from eachother, and in this way the strength and durability of the closed trunkwill be materially enhanced. The section E is hinged at x to the backwall of the body section B to permit of the said section E being swungfrom the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 5 and viceversa.

With a view of securing the section E in its upright position shown inFig. 6, I provide the two braces F.

These braces F are identical in construction, and there-' fore adetailed description of the one shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 6 will sufliceto imparta definite understanding of both. The said brace, Figs. 2, 3and 6, comprises a lower member G hinged or pivoted at H to the bodysection B, and an upper member I pivoted at .T to the section E. Theadjacent portions of the said members G and I are lapped and pivotedtogether as shown, and the member G is provided on its rear edge with alateral lug K arranged to bring up against the rear edge of the member Iwhen the members are moved forward beyond the center as clearly shown inFigs. 2 and 3. When the members are thus positioned it will be apparentthat the braces F will form a rigid and strong support for the section Eon the section B, and one calculated topreclude casual forward movementof the section E irrespective of the weight of the clothes placedtherein, which is an important desideratum. It will also be apparentthat when the braces F are flexed rearward, the members G and I are freeto move with respect to each other, and the section E may then bereadily swung down into the position shown in Fig. 5. To fix the sectionE in its upright position, the user of the trunk has but to raise thesaid section E, and then draw the connected portions of the bracemembers G and I forward beyond the center or to the position shown inFigs. 2 and 6.

K is a slide bracket connected to the top wall sof the section E anddesigned for the connection of coat and dress hangers which I havedeemed it unnecessary to The said slide bracket comprises U-shapedfixtures y connected to the wall 8, a tube z fixed in the said fixturesy and having a longitudinal slot a in its under side, a rod b movableendwise in the tube 2, and and a depending bail 0 having its end arms dfixed to the rod b and movable in the slot (1, and also having its saidarms arranged at the outer sides of the two fixtures y. The bail c isdesigned for the connection of the garment hangers, and by virtue of theconstruction described it will be seen that the said bail may beconveniently drawn outward from the position shown in Fig. 6 and asreadily pushed back into the said position; and it will also be seenthat when the bail is drawn outward its inner arm (1 will bring upagainst the outer fixture y and in that way prevent disconnection of therod 1) and bail c from the tube 2.

From the foregoing it will be gathered that the slide bracket is strongand durable, and is adapted without danger of impairment to hold aconsiderable number of heavy garments.

L is a horizontally swinging door hinged at M to one side wall of thesection E and designed to be fastened at N to the other side wall ofsection E in a detachable manner. The said door L serves when closed toretain the bail a and the garments hung thereon in the section E; and italso serves, by preference, for the detachable connection of the upperend of the curtain D, the oflice of which is to retain the garments inneat arrangement in the section B and the lower portion of the sectionE. I desire it understood, however, that the upper end of the curtain Dmay be detachably connected to either the door L or the side walls ofthe section E and in any suitable manner without involving departurefrom the scope of my invention as claimed.

P is a garment retainer which is movable forward and backward in thesection E and has for its office to assist in retaining the garments ina neatly arranged manner in the said section. The said retainer may beof any approved construction, though I prefer to have it comprisespring-pressed rods Q normally engaged with apertures in bars connectedto the side walls of the section E and guided on the said bars andhaving finger-pieces R at their inner ends whereby they may bedisengaged from the bars when it is desired to move the retainer inwardor outward.

As shown in Fig. 1 my novel trunk is entirely open, and hence it will beunderstood that any one of the drawers e may be readily opened, and oneor more garments may be readily placed in the wardrobe portion and asconveniently removed therefrom. When it is desired to close the trunk,the door L is closed and fastened, the curtain D is raised and fastenedin its closed position, and the body section A is swung against andfastened to the face of the body section B, after which the braces F areflexed rearward, and the section E is swung down on the sections A and Band locked to the section A. With this done it will be seen that thetrunk presents a body of cubical form and one that is well adapted towithstand the rough usage generally accorded by baggage handlers totrunks. To open the trunk the operation described in the foregoing isreversed, and when the trunk is fully opened as shown in Fig. 1 itobviously constitutes a convenient combined bureau and wardrobe.

The construction shown and described constitutes the preferredembodiment of my invention, but I desire it understood that in practicesuch changes in the form, construction and relative arrangement of partsmay be made as fairly fall within the scope of my ininvention asclaimed.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters-Patent, is:

1. A trunk comprising body sections hinged together and capable ofhorizontal swinging movements toward and from each other; one of thesaid body sections being open at its upper end, and a verticallyswinging section hinged to the last mentioned body section and arrangedwhen in an upright position to form an upright continuation of said bodysection and also arranged when swungdown ward to form one end of thecompletely closed trunk and to lap over the other body section andthereby hold the body sections together in closed relation.

' 2. A. trunk comprising body sections hinged together and havinginclined upper ends; one of said body sections being open at its upperend, and a vertically swinging sec tion hinged to the lastmentioned'body section and arranged when in an upright position to forman upward continuation thereof and also arranged when swung down into ahorizontal position and on' the other body section to form one end ofthe closed trunk; said vertically swinging section having false sidewalls arranged to rest at the inner sides of the side walls of the bodysections and also having flanges the edges of-which are inclined andarranged to lap the upper ends of the body sections.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

HERMAN DAVIS. Witnesses C. MnTzGnR,

JEROME P. DAVIS.

